A bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Andy Barr [R-Kent.] that would overhaul the CFPB’s public consumer complaint database as it exists today with a system that requires consumers to attest under penalty of perjury that their complaints are accurate, authorized, and raised with the company first, while also allowing financial institutions and collectors to close duplicative, frivolous, or unauthorized complaints and restricting the public release of complaint narratives. The proposal, H.R. 7588, branded as the “Eliminating Fraud in the CFPB’s Complaint Database Act,” would significantly change how complaints are submitted, verified, responded to, and disclosed, with direct implications for banks, fintechs, credit unions, and collection operations that regularly manage CFPB complaint workflows.
What the bill would change: If enacted, the legislation would amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act to overhaul the CFPB’s complaint intake and publication process. Key elements include:
- Consumer attestation under penalty of perjury
- Complaints would have to be certified as true and accurate to the best of the consumer’s knowledge.
- Complaints must be submitted by the consumer or an authorized representative with proof of identity and written authorization.
- Consumers would need to attest that they notified the company of the issue at least 60 days before filing with the CFPB.
- Identity verification and authorization
- The bill defines “sufficient proof of identification,” which could include government issued IDs, birth certificates, or Social Security documentation for consumers and their representatives.
- Authority to close certain complaints
- Covered persons could close complaints deemed duplicative, frivolous, unauthorized, or submitted for fraudulent or misleading purposes.
- Companies could also close complaints if the issue was already remedied or if the consumer did not provide the required advance notice.
- Closures and the reasons for closure would be recorded in the CFPB’s database.
- Limits on public disclosure
- Narrative content in complaints and company responses would no longer be publicly viewable.
- The CFPB could still publish aggregated complaint data and trend analysis, as long as it does not include identifiable narratives.
Why this matters: For regulated entities, the proposal signals a potential shift away from reputational risk driven by publicly searchable complaint narratives, while placing greater emphasis on front-end issue resolution and documentation. If the bill advances, compliance, customer service, and legal teams may need to rethink how they:
- Track and document pre-complaint consumer outreach
- Validate the authenticity of complaints and third-party submissions
- Manage complaint closures and reporting back to regulators
- Use CFPB complaint data for trend analysis, benchmarking, and risk management
